British financial technology firm Revolut, headquartered in London and recognized as one of the world’s fastest-growing digital banking platforms, is officially setting its sights on India—a market it regards as both highly promising and notably underserved in the realm of cross‑border financial services. According to the company’s internal assessments, a significant proportion of Indian consumers are still subject to steep and often opaque costs when making overseas transactions. Revolut estimates that Indian residents collectively spend close to $30 billion each year abroad, bearing an estimated $600 million in accompanying bank charges and hidden conversion fees. Paroma Chatterjee, who leads Revolut’s India operations, characterizes these excessive costs as practically “criminal,” pointing out that, historically, banks have firmly controlled this sector and imposed high fees with limited transparency.
Speaking to TechCrunch, Chatterjee elaborated on how traditional banking institutions have long dominated foreign exchange services, often leaving consumers few viable alternatives. Travelers and international spenders, she explained, are compelled to rely on banks either to withdraw foreign currency directly or to procure bank‑issued travel cards before embarking overseas. In doing so, they frequently encounter what she described as “humongous charges,” a term that underscores both the scale and the persistence of these costs over time. The current system, she noted, has entrenched inefficiencies that Revolut now aims to dismantle by offering Indian users a more equitable and digital-first financial experience.
Since initiating its push into the Indian market in 2021, Revolut has undertaken a series of strategic preparations to position itself for success. Its goal has been to bridge gaps in India’s foreign exchange ecosystem and to reimagine the traditional payments infrastructure. A pivotal moment in this process came in 2022, when the company acquired Arvog Forex, a domestic entity that enabled Revolut to secure a license allowing it to operate remittance and multi‑currency accounts locally. Building on this momentum, Revolut achieved another key milestone in April when it obtained a prepaid payment instrument (PPI) license from the Reserve Bank of India. This regulatory approval grants the firm the authority to issue prepaid cards, manage digital wallets, and integrate seamlessly with the nation’s government‑approved Unified Payments Interface (UPI), the digital backbone of real‑time transactions in India.
Armed with these critical authorizations, Revolut is preparing to compete head‑to‑head with both well‑established banks and India’s growing cohort of homegrown fintech enterprises. The company has delineated an ambitious objective: to attract more than 150 million so‑called “globally aspiring” and “digitally native” Indian users, primarily between the ages of 25 and 45. Within this demographic, Revolut expects to onboard approximately 20 million customers by 2030 and to facilitate transactions totaling at least $7 billion. According to Chatterjee, the recent licenses empower the company to design and deliver a truly independent financial experience, free from the constraints that arise when fintech firms depend heavily on traditional banks for backend infrastructure. “We can deliver the kind of customer experience that we want to deliver,” she emphasized, highlighting Revolut’s intent to control every aspect of its product journey.
The company’s Indian offering will revolve around a robust prepaid wallet integrated with UPI functionality and featuring proprietary Revolut‑branded handles. Customers will have access to both a domestic Visa card for everyday transactions within India and a multi‑currency international Visa card suitable for travel and cross‑border spending. Beyond these foundational products, Revolut’s roadmap includes additional services such as child‑ and teen‑specific accounts linked to parental profiles, subscription packages with tiered benefits, and advanced budgeting tools capable of delivering detailed analytics and personalized insights aimed at improving financial literacy and spending awareness. Importantly, Revolut has also received authorization to facilitate both domestic and international transfers, including same‑day outward remittances processed in collaboration with designated Indian banking partners.
In contrast to many local fintech startups that emphasize rapid user acquisition—often relying on minimal “know your customer” (KYC) checks to onboard a high volume of low‑value accounts—Revolut intends to maintain a much stricter compliance regime. All Revolut wallets in India will require full KYC verification, with each customer’s credentials cross‑checked against major international sanctions lists such as those administered by the United Nations and the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control. This rigorous process, Chatterjee explained, is designed to attract serious, high‑intent users who are genuinely committed to engaging with the platform rather than casual consumers driven by curiosity. The onboarding process will include both Aadhaar authentication and live video verification, ensuring adherence to the nation’s security and regulatory standards. “Somebody would do that only if they’re truly interested in using the product,” Chatterjee remarked, noting that the completion of full KYC will represent a crucial success metric for Revolut—rather than the more superficial measure of sheer app downloads. In India, she observed, curiosity alone often drives users to install new applications once they appear in app stores, but that kind of passive engagement will not define Revolut’s growth philosophy.
Instead, the company plans to gauge its success through the depth and quality of user interaction, overall profitability, and long‑term engagement. Chatterjee contrasted Revolut’s approach with competitors who tout enormous download numbers. “There are people who talk about having 300 or 400 million customers,” she told TechCrunch. “Revolut, across its presence in 39 countries, has 65 million customers and is valued at around $75 billion. The reason for this valuation is that those customers collectively generate over $4 billion in processed transactions and yield profits exceeding $1 billion annually. Out of the total, more than 25 million are active in any given month.” This focus on meaningful engagement and sustainable profitability, she suggested, is what has enabled Revolut to achieve its global standing and will likewise guide its Indian operations. The valuation figure she cited references a recent secondary share sale that elevated Revolut’s worth from approximately $45 billion just the previous summer to its current, considerably higher level.
Revolut has already amassed a domestic waitlist exceeding 350,000 prospective users in India, which it plans to onboard gradually before formally opening registration to the broader public. The timeline for full launch will depend partly on how efficiently the company completes these KYC and anti‑money‑laundering checks. As Revolut prepares for expansion, it is also exploring potential collaborations beyond its existing relationship with Visa, including discussions with the Indian government’s indigenous card network, RuPay, in order to broaden customer choice and promote localization. So far, Revolut has injected approximately $45 million into its Indian operations—a sum dedicated to launching its services and adapting its technology infrastructure to comply with India’s stringent data sovereignty requirements. Additional investments are expected as the business scales.
Globally, Revolut employs around 10,000 people, of whom more than 3,500 are already based in India, making the country home to the company’s largest workforce—even surpassing its staff numbers in the United Kingdom. Many of these India‑based employees contribute not just to domestic product offerings but also to Revolut’s international features, underscoring India’s growing role as a strategic technology hub within the company’s operations.
However, while Revolut’s market entry marks a significant milestone and signals its commitment to transforming India’s financial landscape, it is not without challenges. The cross‑border payments segment in India continues to be largely dominated by well‑entrenched banks, and several nimble fintech competitors—such as Niyo, Scapia, Fi, and BookMyForex—already occupy meaningful positions in the remittance and foreign‑exchange ecosystem. Against this competitive backdrop, Revolut’s long‑term success in India will depend on its ability to disentangle customers from conventional banking habits, deliver distinct value through transparency and technology, and uphold its promise of a seamless, globally integrated digital banking experience tailored to Indian consumers.
Sourse: https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/07/revolut-aims-to-take-on-indian-banks-and-their-criminal-forex-fees/
